Safety guard for machines



E. J. BOEHMER.

SAFETY GUARD FOR MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJZ. I92].

1 ,4 1 2;@ 14., v Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

z/emior.

f I Hilton/Legs.

ERNST JULIUS BOEHMER, 03 ST. LOUES, I/ZISSOUBT.

FOR MACHINES.

Application filed August 12, 1921.

To all 20710 102 it may concern it known that T. ERNST JULIUS n w n t in? QM q noel-risen a citizen or he L'lllLe-cl owes, and a resi l nt of the city of St. Louis and State of I- oSOllIl, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety uards for l-/lachines of which the following a specification.

My invention relates to safety guards presses and particularly for cutting i achiues and the like and has for its orincipa objects to provide a guard that is simple in construction, that will. not get out of order easily and that will thoroughly protect the operator of the machine against injury by the cutting tool thereof. The invention consists princpally in a guard comprising a plurality of movably mounted rods or pins that form a barrier between the operator and the cutting or other tool of the machine. The invention also consists in the parts and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings which form part of this specification, and wherein likereferencc numerals indicate like parts wherever they occur Fig. 1 is front elevation of a cutting machine having applied thereto safety guard embed ing my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof through the guard in lowered position; and

' Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view thereof showing the guard in raised position.

in the drawings. T have illustrated a safety guard embodying my invention in connection with a machine of a well-known type for cutting paper, cloth or other material. The frame or body of the machine comprises Specification of Letters Patent.

suitable pedestals or uprights l. a transverse nber 2 whose ends rest on the upper end oi" said pedestals 1 and a suitable bed plate 3 supported between said pedestals 2. A vertically movable clamp 4t for"holding the work is mounted above the bed plate 3. The clamp 4i is mounted on rods 5 which extend through holes provided therefor in the bed plate 8 and whose lower ends are secured to a transversely disposed bar 6. The bar 6 is provided with vertically disposed racks '7 near the ends, which racks 7 mesh with pin ions 8 that are secured on a shaft 9 that is journaled in the pedestals 1. -One end of said shaft 9 has a gear 10 secured thereto with which meshes a worm 11 on the end of a shaft 12 that is provided with a hand Patented Apr. Jill, 1922.

Serial No. 491,708.

wheel 13 for turning it. By turning this hand wheel 13, the clamp is lowered to 'en gage and hold the work, or is raised to release the work when desired. The knife 1-1 mounted above the bed plate 3 in any wellknown manner and 1s provided with any suitable means for operating it. The cutting machine is of a well-known type and further description of its construction and operation is believed to be unnecessary. My safety guard is adapted for use with other kinds of machines.

Brackets are secured to the clamp 4- near its ends. These brackets 15 may be of substantially inverted til-shape as shown in the drawings and have one arm thereof provided with a flange 16 that is bolted or otherwise secured to the clamp 4-.- The'free arms 17 of the brackets project beyond the face of the cutting tool 14. Secured at the ends of said bracket arms are links 18. The meeting ends of a second pair of links 19 are pivotally secured to a projection 20 on the frame of the machine. The ends of the bracket links 18 are pivotally secured respectively to the links 19. Hanger arms 21 are pivotally secured to said second links 19 and to a horizontally disposed bar 22 that is movably mounted in the frame of the machine. By means of this arrangement of links the bar 22 is raised and lowered with the clamp. The bar 22 is provided with a plurality of holes in which are disposed guard pins The pins 23 fit loosely in the holes of the bar and have enlarged ends so that they can not be withdrawn therefrom. .Preferably one of said ends 2d is weighted so that the pins 23 tend to drop down in the holes in the bar. The pins constitute a barrier that protects the operator of the machine against injury by the cutting tool.

The operation of my device is as follows: The work is placed on the machine in the desired position, and the clamp 4 is lowered to engage the same by turning the hand whee As the clamp is lowered the bar 22 and the guard pins 23 are also lowered because of their connection with the clamp; The clamp is lowered until it firmly engages the material to be out and the bar 22 is spaced somewhat above the bed plate of the machine. The lower ends of the guard pins rest on the work and on the bed plate of the machine. After the clamp and guard are in position, the cutting knife is operated and then the clamp and guard are raised to permit the cutportions of the work to be removed and fresh work to be put in place, and the above operation repeated.

The link mechanism may be arranged so as to give the guard the desired amount of movement. As shown in the drawings, the bar 22 has more movement than the clamp so that when both. are raised the lower ends of the guard pins are above the level of the bottom of the clamp so that the operator may adjust the machine or the clamp. The position of the clamp and consequently the distance of the guard bar above the bed plate will vary with the thickness of the work. The guard pins drop down to close the gap between the bed plate and the work and the bottom of the guard bar so that there is nodanger of the. operator inserting his hand under the guard after it is lowered. The guard accommodates work of any thickness. If the operator should have his hand underneath the guard as it is being lowered, he would be struck only by a light pin which would be free to yield, and he could with draw his hand without having it injured. The pins being spaced apart, permit the operator to watch. the operation of the machine. prevents materials from flying out of the front end of the machine, after they have been operated on by the cutting tool. The guard is not connected with the cutting tool and thus need not be dismantled when said tool is changed or repaired.

It is obvious that my invention is adapted for use on any other types of machines than one illustrated in the drawings and that numerous changes may be made in the construction of the guard itself without departing from my invention. I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction shown.

IV hat I claim is: r

1. In combination with a machine of the kind set forth having a reciprocating member, a safety guard, comprising a movable guide bar, a plurality of movable guard pins loosely mounted in, holes in said guide bar and means for raising and lowering said guide bar, said means being connected with said reciprocating member of said machine to be moved therewith.

2. In combination with a machine of the kind set forth having a reciprocating memsupport, said means being operated by said reciprocating member.

3. In combination with a machine of the The pins also constitute a screen that kind set forth having a reciprocating mem her, a safety guard comprising a guide bar, a plurality of pins mounted in said guide bar soas to be movable independently of each other, and means for moving said guide bar comprising a link mechanism connecting said guide bar and said reciprocating member.

i. In a machine of the kind described, the I of a safety guard connected with said clamp whereby it is adapted to be moved with said clamp to protect the operator from said tool.

6. The combination with a machine of the kind set forth, comprising a bed plate, a tool, and a vertically movable clamp disposed above said bed plate and arranged to hold the work, of a safety guard adapted to be lowered with said clamp to protect the operator from said tool, said guard comprising a vertically movable bar disposed transversely of the machine, vertically movable guard pins in said bar and means for lowering and raising said bar.

7. In combination with a cutting machine or the like, a safety guard comprising a vertically movable bar and a plurality of vertically disposed guard pins loosely mounted in holes in said guard bar, said guard pins being weighted at one end and being provided with enlarged ends whereby they are retained in said holes.

8. The combination with a machine of the kind described comprising a frame, a bed plate and a clamp adapted to hold the work, of brackets secured to said clamp, a pair of links pivotally connected at one end and secured to the frame of the machine, links having one of their ends pivotally secured to said brackets respectively and the other end to said first mentioned links respectively, hanger arms having their. upper ends pivotally secured to the free ends of said first mentioned links, and a safety guard supported by said hanger arms.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 6th day of August, 1921.

ERNST JULIUS BOEI-IMER. 

